$$ Interaction Between Lion And His 'Best Friend' Stuns Handlers
There's a reason why lions are called "the Kings of the Jungle": Not only are the big cats the masters of their domain, but they have a pretty strict hierarchy: you don't mess with the leader of the pride. Not every interaction, however, goes according to plan. Just ask Masrya and Nero, the two lions at the heart of our story...
The Queen of the Jungle
When you think of a lion, you probably imagine a fearsome predator lording over the African bush. Unfortunately for one lioness named Masrya, life wasn't like what we see in the nature documentaries. She found herself in a bleak situation.
Life in the Wild
As a cub, Masrya lived a pretty ideal life in the wild, playing with her peers and learning the ways of the pride. On one fateful day, however, she encountered the one predator that even lions fear.
Captured!
While the exact details aren't known, Masrya must have crossed paths with some humans! Before she knew what happened, she was whisked away to Cario, Egypt, and forced to pose for pictures with tourists. It was an embarrassing fate for a prideful animal.
A Painful Process
While becoming a photo prop is far below a regal lioness, it wasn't the only indignity that Masrya suffered. She was also declawed; in to addition being painful, the procedure meant she'd no longer be able to hunt. She would never be herself again.
Too Close
Eventually, Masrya grew up, and tourists were no longer excited to take pictures with her: While taking tourist pictures with an adult lioness sounds cool, it's probably not the safest idea. With that reality in mind, she needed to find a new home. As you might imagine, she didn't get to retire back to the plains.
Private Zoo Problems
Unfortunately, things didn't get better for Masrya; she found herself in the hands of a private zoo. The majestic lioness found herself trapped in a tiny cage, once again serving as a prop for adventurous tourists. But then, something good happened for once.
A Life-Saving Tip
Thankfully for Masrya, one tourist didn't just look at her in the cage. She reported the lioness' deteriorating condition to a conservation group. Eventually, they managed to free the big cat and send her to Stichting Leeuw, a rescue facility in the Netherlands. There, life was still tricky.
Problems Persisted
Once she made the move north, though, Masrya wasn't out of the woods yet. She was pretty weak and uncertain about living life outside of her tiny cage. She wasn't the only lion to arrive in the sanctuary, though...
Nemo, the Circus Lion
In France, a young lion cub by the name of Nemo was undergoing a similar struggle. He and his parents belonged to a circus, which, as you might imagine, wasn't the ideal place for an apex predator. He had a lot in common with Masrya.
Plenty of Pictures
Like Masrya, Nero's small size and cute appearance made him perfect for pictures. He'd spend his day in a small cage, only emerging when a guest wanted to pose for a photo. Then, everything changed.
A Change of Scenery
Once again, a concerned visitor tipped off the authorities and, in a blink of an eye, they rescued the young lion. Before the four-month old cub knew what was happening, he was headed to the Netherlands.
Making New Friends
Once both lions reached the sanctuary, they ended up in enclosures next to each other. As they adjusted to their new surroundings, the two cats would interact through the fence. That gave the staff an idea!
The Moment of Truth
Since the two lions seemed to be getting along and Nero was still only a cub, they decided to let him and Masrya meet face-to-face. Cautiously, they prepared for the cats' big introduction...
Friends Forever
While things could have gone terribly wrong — lions don't always take kindly to outsiders — Masrya and Nero hit it off. Before long, the two cats were playing like a pair of old friends!
Play Time Is All the Time
Masrya became like a mother to Nero, showing the young lion the ropes; in return, he'd stick by her side morning, noon, and night. That relationship, however, would be put to the test by a massive change...
Back to Africa
After some time at Stichting Leeuw in the Netherlands, it was time for Masrya to return to her native Africa! She wasn't going to be traveling alone, though. Nero joined her for the intercontinental trip.
Life in the Wild
Once the pair reached Stichting Leeuw's South African sanctuary, the two lions continued to hit it off. After a life in captivity, they now had all the space they could ever want! Tragedy, however, was still in the cards.
An Unfortunate End
While her condition had improved since her rescue, Masrya was still an older lion with some health issues. Unfortunately those caught up to her and, in early 2021, she passed away. Nero took the news hard.
A New Family
While Nero was shaken by the loss of his friend, he has since struck up a relationship with another female lion: Nora. Together, the pair has formed their own family...all without a cage in sight! They were better off, though some might argue otherwise.
Fueling An Industry
Those people would be owners of "exotic" zoos and breeders. The sale and exhibition of rare animals is a global, multibillion-dollar industry, and white tigers play an enormous role in creating this kind of worldwide demand. Lions, like Masrya and Nero, and tigers sell for a hefty fees. The ramifications are huge.
A Hot Commodity
A single white tiger can fetch up to $60k on the open market, and their scarce numbers — only 200 are known to exist in captivity — make them an especially hot commodity. For this reason, zoos that house these creatures are often well-visited, though they aren't the only places you can find white tigers on display.
Entertainment Purposes
Las Vegas has also become a hotspot for white tigers, thanks in large part to the efforts of the late magician duo Siegfried & Roy. But by presenting these tigers as a means of entertainment, more and more people have become desensitized to the fact that they are still very much wild animals.
Pets For the Wealthy
That's why many of these tigers are now being bred and sold as private pets. This, of course, should come as no surprise — after all, if you had more money than you knew what to do with, what better way to show it off than by flaunting a stunningly adorable white tiger?
Looks Can Be Deceiving
Sure, they're bound outgrow that cute phase eventually, but with such high demand among zoos and breeders, you'd definitely be able to find somebody to take such a beautiful creature off your hands... right? As it turns out, most white tigers don't look like this at all.
Kenny the White Tiger
Instead, they look like this. Meet Kenny, a white tiger rescued by the Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge back in 2000. Found living in filth in the home of an Arkansas breeder, Kenny's owner asked Turpentine Creek to "get rid of him" after too many prospective buyers passed on him because of his looks.
Not Buying It
The breeder reported other problems too. "The gentleman that we rescued him from said he would constantly run his face into the wall," Emily McCormack, animal curator for Turpentine Creek, said. "But it was clear that that wasn't the situation."
Ordinary Tiger
While some media outlets initially reported that Kenny had Down syndrome, he was found to be mentally normal when he arrived at Turpentine Creek. In reality, Kenny was just an ordinary white tiger — only the kind you don't see in zoos or on stage.
No Such Thing
The truth of the matter is that white tigers don't exist — or, at least, not as an independent species they don't. A white tiger is simply the product of two regular tigers both possessing a recessive gene trait for white coloring, though the odds of this occurring naturally are staggeringly low.
Unnatural Animal
In fact, in any given litter of cubs, there's only a 1-in-10,000 chance of a white one being born, and the last time a white cub was actually spotted in the wild was way back in the 1950s. Of course, that white cub didn't last there for long.
It All Started With One
The person who discovered the young tiger immediately snatched it from its family, after which it was sold to a breeder in an effort to isolate the white recessive gene. From there, its offspring were interbred over and over again — today, it's believed that all white tigers are descended from this one cub.
A Dangerous Process
"They're not normally found," explained Susan Bass of Florida's Big Cat Rescue. "In order to get that [color], breeders have to breed tigers over and over again to get that gene to come forward." Unfortunately, this decades of inbreeding has done more harm than good for the white tiger.
Common Deformities
Along with facial deformities similar to Kenny's, these tigers are also prone to kidney problems, spine issues, crossed eyes, club feet, and infertility. Most of them don't even live past the age of ten, about half the average lifespan of a normal tiger.
Undesirable
Given this high frequency of deformities, most white tigers are therefore deemed undesirable — and disposed of. "To get that one perfect, pretty white cub, it's one out of 30," Bass explained. "What happens to the other 29 ... euthanized, abandoned ... who knows."
All For Show
Sadly, breeders and buyers aren't too concerned about these rejected tigers, as the payday from one or two cubs is often enough to make back the money lost on their care. In fact, it's for this reason that these individuals are often the most vocal about breeding and "protecting" white tigers.
Shouldn't Exist
"[Breeders and owners are] duping the public into thinking that they need conservation, and paying money to see them," Bass revealed. "These are not a species, they are not endangered, they don't need to be saved, they shouldn't exist."
Setting Standards
Fortunately, animal welfare organizations are beginning to learn the truth about white tigers and have started taking action to prevent further abuse. In fact, the American Zoological Association, the country's foremost zoo accreditation group, has actually banned its members from breeding these tigers outright.
Gone Too Soon
As for Kenny, while he did manage to escape the cruelty of the Arkansas breeder and find a home at Turpentine Creek, he ultimately succumbed to the unfortunate fate that most white tigers face. After a yearlong battle with melanoma, Kenny passed away at just ten years old.
In Kenny's Memory
Since his death, Kenny has become somewhat of a poster boy for the problems afflicting white tigers, with those at Turpentine Creek seeking to use his memory to discourage people from supporting zoos and breeders that deal in these animals. Yet it wasn't until early 2020 that people realized that these snow-colored variants weren't the only tigers in danger — and it was all thanks to Netflix.
Inside Look
Through the wildly popular documentary Tiger King, millions of viewers got a firsthand look at the grim realities of animal captivity and the big cat trade. But believe it or not, the seven-episode miniseries only just barely scratched the surface of the so-called "Tiger King" and his disturbing treatment of his animals.
The Tiger King
While his real name is Joe Schreibvogel, the "Tiger King" instead goes by Joe Exotic (for reasons that will soon become obvious). Joe Exotic owned the The Garold Wayne Exotic Animal Memorial Park in Wynnewood, Oklahoma.
Not a Zoo
Calling it the GW Park for short, Joe Exotic specialized in breeding tigers for captivity. In the Netflix documentary, he often compares his park to a zoo. However, there are some key differences.
Cubs For Cash
Joe Exotic bred tigers specifically for profit. He focused on cubs, as they yield the most profit because they are undeniably adorable and are easier to control. His park performed shows with large lions and allowed visitors to play with and cuddle baby tigers.
More Than Eccentric
Exotic himself is absolutely one of the most compelling characters ever witnessed on television, and he just happens to be real. He is an openly gay, gun-loving, tiger-taming man with a platinum blonde mullet and an eyebrow ring. Besides tigers, his other passion is singing country music.
Smooth Sailing
He is a man with strong opinions who fears nothing. For a while, things were going well in his corner of the world. He married not one, but two men at once, and in another universe, maybe he would've died happy in his late 80's surrounded by tigers.
Joe Meets His Match
The problem was that Joe wasn't taking care of his animals properly. Animals rights activists began reporting his activities, and one woman in particular initiated an all-out crusade against Joe and his animal park. Her name was Carole Baskin.
Big Cat Lover
Carole Baskin is the owner of a sanctuary called Big Cat Rescue, based in Tampa, FL. She is also a true lover of big cats and tigers, as evidenced by almost every object in her house being covered in some form of animal print.
What's the Difference?
The difference between Baskin's and Joe Exotic's occupation involves breeding. Yes, they both own parks where people pay money to see big cats. Exotic interacts with them, allows guests to touch them, and heavily involves himself in the mating selection.
Tigers Over Profit
Baskin, on the other hand, only takes in cats that need to be rescued and doesn't do any breeding or hands-on activities. This contrast proved to be crucial when Baskin and Exotic waged an all out feud that turned really dark, really quickly.
Calling Him Out
Carole Baskin called out Joe Exotic and his ill-advised activities, such as a 1999 incident where he lost control of emus he was transporting and shot a few of them. There was also the time in 2004 when he was accused of dangerously inbreeding tigers, leading to his tigers having physical deformities.
Low-Quality Lifestyle
In the documentary that shows every aspect of Exotic's operation, you can see how he fed his tigers. He would collect expired meat from a Walmart truck to feed not only to his tigers, but also to his band of misfit workers that lived on the park campus.
Just Plain Gross
Disgustingly, he also used the same expired Walmart meat in the food at Joe Exotic's Pizzeria, which served countless guests at GW animal park. This was just one of the many cringeworthy moves from Exotic's playbook.
Obsession
You won't be surprised to learn that Joe Exotic didn't take kindly to the complaints from Carole Baskin. He became obsessed and consumed with his hatred for Baskin and everything she stood for. Finally, after years of back and forth, the federal government got involved.
Cracking Down
In 2006, the U.S. Department of Agriculture suspended Exotic's license and fined him $25,000 for unsanitary conditions, irregular feeding, and animal abuse, which included hitting the animals and neglecting proper care. Arguably, this was the moment that Exotic fully snapped.
Sketchy Savior
Conditions at the park were in a steep decline and Exotic was out of money. A rich man of very questionable background named Jeff Lowe bought the park in order to save it. At this point, Exotic really only had one thing on his mind — actually, two things.
Vote Joe Exotic
One was a very ill-conceived run for office that garnered some laughs on late night talk shows, but was more or less just a farce propagated for attention. The other plan he was focused on was much more sinister...
Smear Campaign
Revenge against Carole Baskin, whom he blamed for all his problems. He began a smear campaign against Baskin, focusing on the 1997 disappearance of her wealthy husband, Don Lewis, who he claimed she fed to her pet tigers.
Bleeding Him Dry
By this point in 2015, Baskin and Exotic were also involved in a series of very expensive legal battles regarding misuse of trademark. They were bleeding Joe Exotic dry of the last pennies he had to his name.
A Sinister Plot
That's when things got crazy. Joe Exotic reached out to a buddy of his whom he sold alligators to — as you do — and offered him $10,000 to murder Carole Baskin. The man, named James Garretson, instead became an informant and worked to expose Exotic's plan.
Second Offer
You may have noticed by now that Joe Exotic is anything but subtle. After Garretson's refusal he reached out to yet another contact — one of his employees this time — offering $5,000 to kill Baskin. When Joe was denied once again, he knew what he had to do.
Without a Trace
Joe Exotic decided to leave everything behind. After selling off many of the animals at GW park to make some quick cash, Exotic moved to Florida to start a new life. His revenge plot never came into fruition. Nobody heard from him for years.
No More Running
Then, in 2018, Joe Exotic was apprehended by the feds while working as a dishwasher in Gulf Breeze, Florida. This led to his being found guilty on 19 counts, including fraud, animal abuse, and, of course, the hiring of a hit man to kill Carole Baskin.
Behind Bars
Joe Exotic is currently in prison serving a 22-year sentence, though he vehemently asserts his innocence on all counts. His relationship with tigers was complicated, to say the least, yet Exotic isn't the only colorful individual who developed an obsession with big cats.
It's no secret that Hollywood celebrities like to surround themselves with the most extravagant and exotic items imaginable with their often considerable means. Some celebrities spend their money on rather strange things.
Not only do the rich and famous like to be surrounded by luxurious items at all times, but some have an affinity for raising exotic animals as pets, too. For the family of Tippi Hedren, this meant welcoming the king of the jungle into their home.
While the actress was best-known for her starring role in Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds, not many people realize that she had an incredibly unique pet at home.
During the 1970's, she actually owned a 400-pound pet lion named Neil! She first became obsessed with lions while shooting on location in Africa.
When Tippi encountered the mammoth feline on a film shoot in Africa, she knew that she had to own the large cat. So her and her then-husband decided to bring the animal home with them.
Not long after, the exotic animal took up official residence in the starlet's Sherman Oaks, California, home. The lion ruled the house, roaming as it pleased. It even shared Tippi's bed from time to time.
In her book, Tippi: A Memoir, Tippi recalled that, after she adopted the big cat to live with her and her family in their California luxury home, she would often find the animal snuggling up in bed with her young daughter, actress Melanie Griffith.
"One night I went down to find them both asleep, side by side," Tippi wrote of the shock at finding her unusual pet and her daughter sleeping in bed together as if Neil was a regular house cat. "It was a sight some mothers might not relish."
Thankfully, Tippi didn't have to worry too much about Neil's behavior around her and her family, because the exotic animal had been trained to behave around humans on movie sets.
Additionally, she employed an animal trainer named Ron Oxley to continue the animal's training in order to reduce the risk of having such a potentially deadly animal in their home. Of course, there is no way to be sure a wild animal won't turn on you.
Like many other celebrities—including famous heavyweight boxer Mike Tyson, who owned several exotic animals himself—Tippi wanted to acquire even more atypical pets. So, not long after adopting Neil, she began a quest to find others.
Before long, Tippi, who had become an animal activist in her own right, had adopted six lion cubs that all lived in her home with her and her family. It wasn't long before her neighbors took note and began to fear for their safety...
As a result of her neighbors' growing fear, Tippi decided it would be best to move the six lion cubs to live at a nearby lion sanctuary. Despite the sadness caused by the move, it was likely for the best!
Over the years, Tippi and her family would endure several small attacks by Neil. Shockingly, one of the lions clawed at her daughter's face during filming of the 1981 film Roar. While Melanie survived the ordeal, she was, not surprisingly, hurt.
After Melanie had to undergo emergency surgery to repair the damages done by Neil's sharp claws to her face, Tippi finally understood the grave danger that her family was in with Neil in the house. To say that she was regretful was an understatement.
"We're dealing with animals who are psychopaths," Tippi once said in an interview about her uninformed decision to raise lions in her home with her children.
"They have no conscience or remorse genes, and they will kill you for their dinner." Hopefully, she later realized that it's not the animal's fault!
While no one in Tippi's family was fatally wounded by Neil, all it took was her daughter's brush with death to remind her that owning exotic animals might not have been the wisest of decisions.
Of course, this goes for everyone. It's best to let them live their lives in the wild!
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